Did the Maya track time using stone monuments long before written records existed?
In short: Archaeological findings at El Naranjo suggest the Maya were tracking complex time cycles centuries earlier than previously thought. By analyzing uncarved stone pairings, researchers are uncovering the origins of the sophisticated calendar systems that would later define Maya civilization.
Excavations at El Naranjo, located near modern-day Guatemala City, have revealed uncarved stela and altar pairings dating to the Middle Preclassic period, between 800 and 500 BCE. Archaeologist Barbara Arroyo proposes that these monuments were used to celebrate the K'atun cycle, a significant unit of time in the Maya calendar.
This discovery suggests that a precursor to the Long Count calendar was in use long before the earliest known written evidence. While the first contemporary Long Count date appears in the Late Preclassic period—specifically 36 BCE at Chiapa de Corzo, Mexico—these earlier stone arrangements indicate that the conceptual framework for tracking such cycles was established much earlier.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Keeping Time in the Maya Highlands: Evidence from the Preclassic
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